Dis ek, Anna: Film Review

As jy ‘n Suid-Afrikaner is en naby of in groot stede bly en jouself binne ‘n inkopiesentrum bevind dan het jy seker al gesien dat die film, Dis ek, Anna, het gister, 15 Oktober, premier, dit is offisieël eers uit op die 23ste Oktober. Dit is ‘n film gebasseer op die verhale in die boeke, Dis ek, Anna en Die Staat teen Anna Bruwer, geskryf deur Anchien Troskie (onder die skuilnaam Elbie Lotter). Ek het nie die boeke gelees nie, maar my beste vriendin het wel, en toe ons sien die film kom uit moes ons dit gaan kyk.

Ek is ‘n trotse Afrikaans sprekende mens, en om films in Afrikaans te sien maak my hart baie bly. Veral as dit so ‘n treffende film is. Daar is ‘n waarskuwing dat dit sensitiewe kykers kan ontstel. Ek is nie ‘n sensitiewe kyker nie en ek was ontsteld. Vriendin het langs my gesit en huil, hier en daar het ek ook ‘n traan laat rol. Die skok het my trane terug gehou, ek was baie keer stom geslaan, tot in my binneste geskok. Vriendin het geweet wat kom, sy het geweet hoe om haarself te “brace” en het seker ook die seer vroër as die res van ons gevoel.

Hoekom, vra jy? Wat is so erg aan die film? Verkragting!!! Dis wat erg is! Ek dink dit is outomaties erger vir vroue as wat dit dalk vir mans kan wees. Ek gaan prober om nie te veel spoilers te gee nie, alhoewel ek kon die hele storie vir jou vertel en dit sal die film en die werklike storie steeds nie ten volle uit beeld nie. My Afrikaanse vermoë is in elkgeval nie van so aard nie. Basies, gaan dit oor ‘n vrou wat haar stiefpa dood skiet omdat hy haar van die ouderdom van 12 af verkrag… 2 – 3 keer ‘n week, en haar ma het daarvan geweet. Dit is die storie in sy rouste vorm, daars BAIE meer vleis aan die been, maar soos ek sê, ek wil dit nie spoil nie.

Kom ons doen gou ‘n vinnige sommetjie… daar is 52 weke in ‘n jaar, d.w.s Anna is minstens 104 keer ‘n jaar verkrag, in ‘n tydperk wat sy nog moes Barbie speel. Deur iemand wat ‘n beskermende figuur in haar lewe moes wees en haar ma het niks gedoen nie. Hoeveel dogters, vroue, sit in soortgelyke situasies? Hulpeloos, te skaam om iets vir iemand te sê? Te bang vir wat kan gebeur as die waarheid uitkom? Te bang dat dit op ‘n manier hul eie skuld is? Hoeveel vrouens sit nou nog met daardie nagmerie, jare nadat dit opgehou het, met die geheim van wat met hulle gebeur het? Die hartseer ding is, dit gebeur nie NET met meisies nie, dit gebeur met seuns ook. Dan is daar nog die feit dat mense dink kinders het die vermoë om iets van seks uit te dink en mense falslik te beskuldig daaraan. Op die ouderdom van 12, of in baie gevalle baie jongeras 12, weet kinders nie rêrig wat seks is nie, so hoe kan hulle stories daarvan opmaak? ‘n Aanhaling uit die film “Hoe verbeel jy jouself iets as jy nog nooit vantevore van dit gehoor het nie?”.

Volwasse Anna is gespeel deur Charlene Brouwer, jinne die vrou is goed. Oh my donner! Ongelooflik!!! Ek het nie die gevleuelde woorde wat nodig is om die vrou se toneelspelvermoë uit te blink nie, gaan kyk die film en sien vir jouself.

Charlene Bouwer: Pragtig en baie talentvol!

Jong Anna is deur 17 jarige Izel Bezuidenhout vertolk. Sy het die rol van die jong Anna wat deur die stiefpa verkrag word briljant gespeel. Mens moet sekerlik baie emosioneel sterk wees om so ‘n rol te speel. Ek dink dit help dat haar pa ‘n dominee was. Met God is enigiets moontlik.

Izel Bezuidenhout: nog so jonk, en so baie bereik al!

Ek haal my hoed af vir Morné Visser wat die stiefpa speel, en Nicola Hanekom wat die ma speel. Dit is ‘n baie groot taak om so iemand so goed uit te beeld, ek kan net dink dat dit ‘n ware emosionele filmstel was. Ek is nie ‘n aktrise nie, dalk eendag, maar ek weet nie hoe diep mens in jou diepste nagmeries moet duik vir die regte persona, om so ‘n rol suksesvol te speel nie.

Morné Visser: Anna se stiefpa

Nicola Hanekom: Anna se ma.

Om mee af te sluit, as jy of iemand wat jy ken in ‘n situasie is waar seksuele gemollesteering plaas vind moedig ek jou aan om navore te kom. Al het dit jare terug gebeur, jy kan die lewe van ander meisies red deur die kwaddoeners se dade aan die lig te bring. Dit is nie jou skuld nie en dit is nie reg nie. Hier is ‘n nommer wat jy kan kontak: 08 000 55 555 of gaan na Childline se webtuiste: http://www.childlinesa.org.za.

Gaan ondersteun die Sit Jou Voet Neer blad op Facebook. Saam kan ons ‘n verskil maak.

Sit jou voet neer teen seksuele geweld!!

Let’s live animated!

How cool would it be to befriend an ogre, or get irritated by a talking donkey, or remember at least 2 addresses for the rest of our lives (Oh, wait, we already do that 😉 ), or to ride around the world on a magic carpet, or travel on a ship through space to find planets, or to collect thingemabobs, or to be a lost princess, or even just a girl not fitting in with girly things, to be friends with a meerkat and warthog, to be a cocky wild stallion fighting to get home, to find a lost city, to find a GOLDEN city and pretend to be a god, to be a robot finding a way to save other robots, or another robot that is your own personal health care professional, to build a snowman, to live in the ice age, to be a celebrity in Madagascar, to love a beast, to train  a dragon, to know your emotions have emotions… honestly the list goes on and on and ON.

“You know it’s spelt just like the word ESCAPE!”

How often have you wished to es-CAH-pay into the world of an animation? I’m 27 and still wishing. Recently I remembered some of the forgotten gems of animation. Oh just a quick disclaimer – I am a movie nut and I drive my friends a tad crazy with my quotes. Show me a movie, especially a comedy and animation and you will hear quotes for a lo-hong time. So these dusty gems…

Road to El-Dorado

“They call us Miguel and Tulio, mighty and powerful gods!”

Tulio and Miguel pretend to be gods when they find the golden city of El Dorado, after escaping from an angry mob and the authorities in Spain. There’s a funny horse (I think that’s maybe where Maximus from Tangled gets his personality) It’s hilarious, my favourite quote from this movie would be Miguel saying to Tulio after being caught out for using loaded dice “You gave me loaded dice? HE GAVE ME LOADED DICE!! Guards arrest him!” Or “You know that little voice that tells you to stop while you’re ahead? You don’t have one.” Watch it. Just. Watch. IT!

One of the best scenes!

And, who doesn’t like soundtracks by Sir Elton John? Comedy and Elton, what more do you want?

Anastasia

Don’t fail me now!

Not an inherently funny animation, but as animations go, there are naturally some funny parts. The Romanov family in Russia gets wiped out by a curse and a princess survives due to head injury caused amnesia. There is an extremely funny little bat, Bartok (Voiced by Hank Azaria). All the funny quotes are from him. *Read in a weird Russian accent*

“A party in Paris? Oh, I could teach you the latest dance step. It starts with like a WHO and then you get really crazy with the hips. Its fun” But most of all I just love this movie because of the songs. It’s just beautiful. Go listen to the one here!! I recently watched it again and well At the Beginning has been on replay for days!

Treasure Planet

Meet Jim Hawkins!

This is quite easily one of the most underrated animations ever. It’s funny, and awesome. Futuristic setting with a stubborn teenager and weird alien type creatures, flying through space on actual ships, Pirates of the Caribbean looking ships, to find Treasure Planet. Oh and then there is the little Morph, pink stuff that can morph into anything.

Again, a brilliant song sung by Goo Goo Dolls front man John Rzeznik, and some great memorable quotes: “Let me make this as… monosyllabic as possible.” “A ludicrous parcel of driveling galoots,’ ma’am.” Oh and “Was I ever dancing with an android named Lupé?”

A little uglier…

My point? I want to live in an animation. It would be awesome!

“No” is not a swear word!!

There is a sermon by Danny Silk from Bethel Church in Redding California, in which he says, “in order to say yes, you need to be able to say no”, then he proceeds to tell the story of Jesus walking through a crowd of people thronging against Him to receive some kind of healing miracle. Then a man comes up to Jesus and requests that Jesus come heal his daughter and Jesus is like, “Yeah, sure.” In that moment, Jesus says no to the entire crowd of people. By saying yes to Jairus, He said no to many others. And there is NOTHING wrong with that. Silk also says that if Jesus was anything like us, He would still be in Jerusalem today, giving out healing and performing miracles, cos we are too afraid to say no.

Last one, then I have to get going. I have to save the world, you know!

How many times have you inconvenienced yourself because of your inability to say no? Because we have been taught that saying no means we don’t care enough about others, because saying no means that we are selfish and self-centred, because saying no means that you don’t love the person you are saying no to. We are brought by people who have had to struggle through their own set of rules set for them by people who didn’t know any better either. But surely that doesn’t mean it is right, or even LAW, or that we shouldn’t challenge those societal rules. Surely, me saying no to you should not warrant you calling me selfish or any other choice words.

The world has turned many Christians into dormant volcanoes. We build up things like resentment and anger and all sorts of unsavoury things because speaking about them is not “Jesus-like”. We suppress everything until it only takes one small little feather to disrupt the peace of the volcano and we erupt in a fiery mess and destroy everything around us. Pompeii is all I’m saying…

I’m fine now, but say one more thing about my smoking…

We suppress because we are told that we should deal with ourselves in the comfort of our own homes and not inconvenience others by making a scene. Because, that’s “MOS” exactly what Jesus did when he got to the synagogue (what a weirdly spelt word, I mean honestly… wouldn’t it be easier if it was just sinagog?) and people were trading all sorts of things in there. Jesus didn’t proceed to flip tables over and whip everyone into a frenzy!! Oh no, wait, that’s EXACTLY what he did. Here’s a fun fact for you, Jesus was ANGRY!

*side note, don’t go flipping tables and such because you are angry that your ice cream fell on the floor, don’t be that guy. Jesus had righteous anger, the kind that you get when your Dad’s house is being used as a shopping mall.

We are told not to get angry, well that’s just unsafe. That’s like putting a pot filled with water on the stove and telling it not to boil, but then cranking up the heat. It will boil, we will get angry. Don’t tell us not to, rather teach us how do deal with our anger in a healthy way. Just like it would be better to teach us how to say no when we really should. For example, that second large pizza with extra cheese, no, or that friend who seems to not get the hang of their finances, even tho you had loaned them money before, no. After a while you aren’t helping anymore, you are just hurting. That candy crush request that you KEEP RECEIVING – BIG OL’ NO!

How about NO!?

I’m not saying don’t be spontaneous or become a heartless, cold No Man. (Don’t be like Jim Carrey in Yes Man either… you know what I mean!!) All I am saying is that no is not a swear word and people shouldn’t make you feel bad for using it.

It’s a small powerful word… use it!